Church offices in Vatican and Vatican diplomatic channels also worked to locate the priest and secure his release, UCA news reported.

Over the weekend the Franciscan Sisters of Siessen posted: “Was informed that the Salesian priest, Fr.Tom who was kidnapped by ISIS from the Missionaries of Charity Home in Yemen is being tortured and is going to be crucified on Good Friday.

“This calls for serious concerted prayers from all of us.”

Some members of Fr Tom’s order have dismissed the reports of his imminent death, saying they know nothing of his fate.

But they are unable to say where the priest may be held or whether he is alive or dead.

Father Mathew Valarkot, spokesman for the Salesians’ Bangalore province to which the kidnapped priest belongs, said: “We have absolutely no information on Fr Tom.

“But even today we do not know who has taken him and what their motives are because no one has claimed responsibility.”

Fr Tom, 56, had been in Yemen for four years working as a chaplain to the Sisters of Mother Teresa.

He insisted on remaining in the dangerous country even though all but one of his fellow priests had left and his church had been torched by suspected terrorists.

Earlier this month, the sole survivor of the brutal attack, Sister Sally, described how the militants, who she said belonged to ISIS, killed everyone else.

Her account, reported in the Christian Post , described how she evaded death while the ISIS fighters searched for her by hiding behind a door

It reads: “They were killed one by one. They tied them to trees, shot them in the head and smashed their heads.”

“These ISIS men were everywhere, searching for her, as they knew there were five [nuns]

“At least three times they came into the refrigerator room. She did not hide, but remained standing behind the door — they never saw her. This is miraculous.”

Over the past year, the Houthi rebel movement and military units loyal to the former president have been battling a US-backed, Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally-recognised government.

Almost 6,300 people, half of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting and ISIS and al-Qaeda are exploiting that weakness to gain a foothold in the region.